In The Kite Runner, Hosseini incorporates the theme of sheep sacrifice because of its historical and symbolic significance; sheep symbolize sacrifice and atonement. The sheep sacrificing ritual Eid-e-Qorban is performed on the tenth day of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Muslim calendar. The ceremony is performed "to celebrate how the prophet Ibrahim almost sacrificed his one son for God" (Hosseini 76).According to Muslim faith, sheep are sacrificed so that one is cleansed of sins and to have a clear conscious in God's eyes. Sheep sacrificing is also a form of prayer, a way of pleading to God and asking for something in exchange for sacrificing a sheep. When Amir left for Afghanistan without a mention, back in America his wife is extremely worried and his mother-in-law, Jamila Khan, is doing nazr everyday. She is killing sheep in form of prayer for Amir's well-being and return. When Amir is told of this on the telephone, he asks his wife to please tell her mother not to do this; Amir has a distaste for this sort of religious ritual.
Because Hassan sacrifices himself for Amir; he is essentially the sacrificial sheep who accepts his suffering, just so that someone else can be spared of that suffering. During their childhood, after the kite flying tournament, Assef demands Hassan to give him Amir's kite and threatens to hurt him if he fails to do so. Hassan does not waver, instead he is willing to take up any suffering rather than give away his friend Amir's prized kite. As a result, Hassan is raped; his blood is sacrificial and shed for Amir's sake. Thus he is proving his bravery and loyalty for having suffered in order to spare Amir. The look on Hassan's face when he is about to be raped is one of despair, it reminds Amir of the look on the sheep's face as it is about to be slaughtered. "It was a look I had seen before. It was the look of the lamb."(Hosseini 78).
Again Hassan sacrifices himself for Amir by putting himself in a morally-destructive position so that Amir is content. When Amir had set up a situation, making it appear that Hassan had stolen money from him, Hassan took the blame for having taken the money when he really hadn't. Having lied just so that Amir wouldn't look bad proves his utter loyalty and love for Amir. Hassan shows complete devotion to Amir, just as Abraham/Ibrahim did for God/Allah. For Hassan there is nothing too worthy to sacrifice for Amir, just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice even his son for God. Hassan puts himself under distress, so that his friend Amir won't have to suffer. Amir appreciates this sacrifice, but is somehow disturbed by his friend's unwavering devotion to him. "He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to tell him that I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake. I wasn't worthy of his sacrifice." (Hosseini 105). Amir feels guilt and remorse for having once more betrayed his dear friend Hassan, yet Hassan continues to show his love and devotion to Amir by sacrificing and suffering for his sake.
Eventually the roles are reversed and Amir begins to sacrifice for Hassan. Since Amir also sacrifices for Hassan by leaving his wife, home, career, and family behind to adopt Sohrab, Hassan's son; he becomes the sacrificial sheep and simultaneously atones himself . When Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan ordering Amir to go back to Afghanistan to adopt Sohrab, the past is brought to bear upon the present. Amir is reluctant about going back to Afghanistan, facing the cruel reality of the past, but ultimately he does so. Amir confronts his guilt and leaves his world behin in order to sacrifice for Hassan as he had sacrificed for him. Amir puts his life on the line visiting Afghanistan under Taliban rule, and confronting Assef, a childhood enemy who is also part of the Taliban . Sohrab becomes one of Assef's slaves and Amir gathers the strength to fight Assef to free Sohrab and to come to terms with the past. Amir once saw Hassan get raped by Assef, but didn't have the will power to attack Assef and help Hassan, but by finally fighting Assef he is doing something that he felt he must have done long ago. Over the phone Rahim Khan mentions to Amir that: "There is a way to be good again" (Hosseini 192). What Rhahim Khan truly means by "there is a way to be good again" is that there exists a way for Amir to rid himself of guilt and atone for his sinful past. By sacrificing, Amir is able to cleanse himself of his past sins, and come to terms with the hurtful past. During the fight between Amir and Assef, Amir is in much physical pain, but spiritually he is relieved. "Are you satisfied now? He hissed (Assef). Do you feel better? I hadn't been happy and I hadn't felt better, not at all. But I did now. My body was broken- just how badly I wouldn't find out until later- but I felt healed, healed at last"( Hosseini 289). Amir is physically broken, his body smeared with blood; he is symbolic of the sacrificial sheep. He is enduring physical pain and blood loss just as Hassan did for him once. Even if Amir were to die, at least he healed at last and is no longer struggling with the psychological burden of his troublesome past. Amir acknowledges this: "Then the end. That I'll take to my grave" (Hosseini 289). Amir has achieved atonement; he now has nothing to fear, even death itself.
Thus, sacrifice is a persistent literary theme in Hosseini's The Kite Rinner. Sheep are slaughtered as a sacrifice to Allah, to show devotion, but also as a form of atonement. Hassan and Amir are transformed into sacrificial sheep for their willingness to suffer, even die for the sake of another.
